The Meaning of Hanukkah Over the last few years there have been several columns in newspapers and social media blogs suggesting that the “true” meaning of Hanukkah is rooted in religious intolerance and reflects not religous freedom but religous suppression. …

A Response to David Sackman’s Post on Hanukkah Respectfully, the history you provide about the Maccabees and the origins of the revolt are not altogether accurate and I fear may be unduly influenced by your left-wing views. For instance, you note that the first person killed was a Jew by…

Here is a secret. Judah the Maccabee is never discussed in the Talmud. Or hardly any Jewish text before 1800. Look at the Rambam, the Ramban, Rashi, Judah HaLevi, Joseph Caro, and virtually any Jewish scholar who lived before the 1800s and Judah is completely absent. So what did Jews…

Monday night, only six days after the saddest day of the Jewish calendar, Tisha B’Av, which marks the destruction of the first and second Temples in Jerusalem and many other woes that fell against the Jewish people on that day, we celebrate Tu B’Av — the happiest day in the…

At the Passover Seder we use many visual cues to try and reenact the story of the Exodus. The Bitter Herbs remind us of the tears of slavery, the haroset resembles the mortar of the bricks, the Shank bone of the sacrificial lamb, and the matzah of the haste with…

8Apr “An only kid An only kid My father bought for two Zuzim.”

GO FOR THE BRONZE: MAKING HANUKKAH GELT TRULY VALUABLE The expression “Hanukkah Gelt” no doubt brings to mind those chocolate candies in a glossy foil reminiscent of silver with some monetary desigiatnion to be used for the game of dreidel.

THE INTERNATIONAL BANKING CONSPIRACY: CAN’T YOU HEAR THE WHISTLE? Only a few days ago Donald Trump proclaimed: “Hillary Clinton meets in secret with international banks to plot the destruction of U.S. sovereignty in order to enrich these global financial powers, her special interest friends and her donors.” Not surprisingly, this…

And it’s Not between Trump and Clinton If you listened to any of the cable news talking heads since the second debate, the big question has been what is Trump thinking with his scorched earth strategy? Why is he talking more about Paul Ryan or the women accusing him of…